


take the next turn (see where it goes)

by renquise



Category: Megalo Box (Anime)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-20
Updated: 2018-08-20
Packaged: 2019-06-30 05:16:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,434
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15745041
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/renquise/pseuds/renquise
Summary: Joe is pretty sure that the gym opening party is a success.





	take the next turn (see where it goes)

Joe is pretty sure that the gym opening party is a success. 

He can still hear the old man boasting about his speech and his not-completely-terrible home-made vegetable dip, muffled enka spilling from the speakers rigged up outside. Sachio fell asleep awhile ago, slumped in a pile with his buddies on the practice mats, full of chips and hot dogs. Nanbu noticed the lack of chatter after awhile and asked Joe to go throw a blanket over them. There's just a few people left now, lingering over drinks. And the two of them, sitting in silence by the water. The lights in the backyard are yellow and bright against the dark, throwing lines of light across the water and butting up against the red glow of the city at the horizon.

Yuri’s dog snuffles at him and pushes out of Joe’s lap, ambling over to the tables to investigate the leftovers. 

“She’ll eat the rest of the chip dip, if they’re not careful,” Yuri says. 

“Nah. The kids already demolished pretty much everything.”

Usually, the quiet makes Joe want to throw a leg over his bike, run as far as he can get in the darkness to shake the antsiness from his skin. But right now, the stillness is okay. There’s something electric about it. It makes him want to move, to do something, but he’s not exactly sure what. 

Joe looks up and catches Yuri looking at him, a dark heat in his eyes. Oh. Okay.

“Hey. Hey, let’s take off for a sec, okay?” He scrambles up to standing and turns to Yuri, bending his head towards the dark of the stairwell. Yuri wheels his chair to follow him, the curve of his mouth promising.

Yuri wedges his chair into the shadows under the stairwell, and Joe takes the barest glance around to make sure no one is watching before he clambers into Yuri’s lap, folding his legs to fit as best he can.

“We need to get you a sweeter ride. Something all agile and shit. Aragaki probably knows someone who could hook you up.” 

“Mmm.”

Yuri looks up at him. His mouth is a little open, and the blinking light of the gym’s neon sign makes his all his angles look rounded, softer.

Joe smooths his hands over Yuri’s jaw to feel for himself, and Yuri makes a surprised noise in his throat. Joe rakes his hands back, fluffs Yuri’s fine hair out of order. Yuri makes this hilarious face, half fond and half put-upon, and Joe fucking loves it. 

He’s been with dudes before Yuri, sure. Quick, rough, someone’s hand on his dick and his hands on warm, sweaty skin. This, though. It’s different. It feels comfortable, like they’ve been doing this for years. But there’s still something shivery and excited about it too, like they’re teenagers sneaking away to make out in an alley. He's never really had something like that.

He makes himself comfortable on Yuri’s lap, and Yuri’s hands settle on his ass, pulling him flush against him. Joe bends his head to kiss Yuri, hot and close. He licks into Yuri’s mouth, feeling the flex of Yuri's arms under his hands, pulls back to yank aside the high collar of Yuri’s shirt and press his open mouth against Yuri’s throat, set his teeth at the join of his neck and shoulder. 

Yuri’s big, brutal hand threads into his hair, clenching down when Joe sucks hard, bites a mark into his skin right at the edge of the scars. Yuri makes this fucking great noise deep in his throat, and Joe wants to wrap it up and keep it tucked inside his ribcage where no one could ever steal it, not even if they tried.

Joe hisses when Yuri’s hand tightens in his hair, pulling him back, the sting of it so fucking good. Yuri’s hand splays over his lower back, pushing his body into a hard arch against him, and Joe can’t help but rut up against him, straining against his grasp. Yuri sets his teeth lightly against the tendons of his throat. Joe pushes up against his mouth, bares his throat, wants to make Yuri bite down, but Yuri's mouth stays gentle. It makes him want to roll over, bare his belly, dare him to take that opening.

“Ah, ah, come on, fuck, let’s do this.” He pulls Yuri into a grapple as best he can, grinds down against his leg, but Yuri’s hand is firm at his back, holding him in place. And, and fuck, that’s so fucking good, Yuri matching him as he pushes against his hold.

Yuri makes a noise against his mouth, pulling back in a sharp wince and letting him go. It isn’t a good noise. Joe pulls back, sitting up to take his weight off Yuri. 

“Ah, shit. ‘s it your back?”

Yuri grunts, bending forward before straightening stiffly. “Yes.”

“Shit. Okay, lemme help you shift around.”

Both their bodies are both beat to shit, really. Joe has trouble sleeping, sometimes. Has stupid headaches and dizziness and stuff like that. Joe--Joe doesn’t always deal great with it. He’s used to powering though shit, keep going even if it hurts like fuck. And sometimes, he can’t, now. Just has to take some meds, lay down and wait for it to pass, and he’s fucking bad at that. Sachio usually takes it upon himself to nag him until he lays down.

And Yuri--there’s a bunch of things he’s had to figure out. Undignified things like learning to shower all over again, making sure he doesn’t get pressure sores, all that stuff. 

But it’s fine. He deals. They deal. They’re still kicking.

“Better?” Joe glances up at Yuri. "For real. Don't try and be stupid."

Yuri opens his mouth, closes it, and nods stiffly.

They sit there in the dark, watching the blinking of the neon in the window, and eventually, the lines of pain around Yuri’s mouth sit a little looser. That’s good.

“Joe. What are you going to do now?” Yuri says, after awhile.

From anyone else, it might get Joe’s hackles up, but from Yuri, it’s just a question. 

“Dunno. Didn’t expect to live this long,” Joe says. It’s the truth, plain and simple.

Yuri doesn’t even blink. “Neither did I, I suppose. Tomorrow, though, I meant.”

Joe taps his fingers on Yuri’s leg. “Go to Abuhachi’s place. He told me he had some repairs to do, and he could use an extra hand. Weed the old man’s garden. Keep Sachio out of trouble.”

“You’re the one keeping Sachio out of trouble? He’s the more sensible of you two, I think.”

Joe punches his arm. “Says the guy who had life-threatening experimental surgery because he wanted to beat up a dude properly.”

Yuri bends his head, the corners of his mouth lifting. “I didn’t say I was sensible, either.”

Ha. Ain’t that the truth. 

Joe pitches forward to kiss Yuri again. Softer, this time. Yuri’s hand lands on his shoulder, traces along his collarbone, presses briefly on the sweet ache of a bruise left by his mouth.

The old man has his gym and his garden, and Joe helps to pull out the weeds around the tomatoes and make sure that the mint doesn’t take over the garden, and Sachio gets to sleep someplace warm, and Joe gets to sit in Yuri’s lap in the half-dark of a stairwell after a party and make out with him, and it’s fucking good.

It’s not the wild thrill of being in the ring. It’s not those moments where every fiber of him feels electrically, powerfully alive as he ducks under a punch or bears up against a flurry of blows. It’s something else quieter, something that settles into his bones, weighing him down and keeping him here. 

There’s a wet nose against his leg. Well, okay, that’s a boner-killer.

“Hey, Yuri, your dog’s here.” He reaches over and pets her, scratching behind her ears. She butts up into his hand, demanding more.

Yuri covers his face. “Oh my god.”

“Sorry, can’t do this with your dog watching,” Joe says cheerfully, clambering off Yuri’s lap. “Let’s go home.”

Yuri lets go of a sharp bark of laughter. “All right. No dogs in the bedroom.” He smooths a thumb along Joe’s forearm. “Except for certain ones.” 

It’s Joe’s turn to laugh, because jesus. “You absolute fucking cornball. I can’t believe I ever thought you were cool.”

Yuri ducks his head, still grinning. “I’ll accept that.”

It’s good, and it could be good for awhile, and Joe’s pretty okay with that.


End file.
